Restoration has been kept to the minimum needed to make the camera light-proof and usable: all the interventions are reversible. Rather than fit new bellows, leaks have been repaired with removable strips of gaffer tape (inside the bellows) and splits in the dark slides have been repaired with wax fillers.Originally, the camera…See More

Evans+Hulf work with the unusual combination of an 1888 ultra-large format camera, X-ray film and advanced digital technology. The giant camera captures an enormous amount of detail, but objects and people slide in and out of focus; exposures are long; snapshots and action photography are impossible; hallucinatory clarity and detail melt into hazy softness. The equipment is heavy and cumbersome: every step has to be planned and considered, leading to an awareness of what can—and cannot—be…See More

"Hi Tom,
Lovely camera. Good to see it came with three plate holders.
If your interested here some links to two I've owned. I still use the Thornton Pickard one. The Billcliff (who made cameras for Chapman) has gone to live with another…"

This is the start of a series about restoring and photographing with a nineteenth-century stand camera - and the outcomes of the experience. The story began in 2010 when I was given a 15” x 12” Victorian camera, with the words “who knows, you might be able to get it working again.” It was a generous gift and I had admired the…See More

Tom Evans's Blog

Restoration has been kept to the minimum needed to make the camera light-proof and usable: all the interventions are reversible. Rather than fit new bellows, leaks have been repaired with removable strips of gaffer tape (inside the bellows) and splits in the dark slides have been repaired with wax…

This is the start of a series about restoring and photographing with a nineteenth-century stand camera - and the outcomes of the experience. The story began in 2010 when I was given a 15” x 12” Victorian camera, with the words “who knows, you might be able to get it working again.” It was a generous gift and I…